we vote for president of the united states. the american people do not vote for john boehner. you're dead wrong, and i'm thrashing you. >>> up next, some wishful thinking in john mccain and john kerry. watch how kerry stays out of this. he's not campaigning, and he's careful here. and this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> back to "hardball." now to the "sideshow." at the kennedy center honors last night comedian ray romano paid tribute to david letterman but slipped in a bow to president obama. >> you want to win the world series. do you quit, you're down one game to nothing? no, you keep going. you keep going. do you quit when you're down 1-0 in debates? no. no. you keep going. >> that's true. this year's honorees included dustin hoffman, led zeppelin, and more. and the president spoke to them at a white house reception and pointed out a hiccup in his own speech writing process. >> we've got buddy guy sitting next to dustin hoffman. we've got dave letterman alongside one of the greatest ballerinas of all time. i don't think dave dances. i worked with the speech writ